The back wall consisted of shelves containing books covering genetics, biotechnology, and like resources. She could spend years delving into this world and never get bored. Each volume was well kept but used, not for show.
The massive executive desk remained pristine, except for the large-screen monitor and blank blotter calendar. Luc sat in the plush leather chair and punched the power button. “I’ve gone through his file drawers but nothing screams sociopath or killer.” Just twisted and warped.
“Hey, Lexi. I’ve booted up this station’s computer, but I can’t get in. Do you mind?”
Despite the illegality of what he was doing, Remie longed to delve into the files.
There’ll be time for that later. Lexi’s going to copy what we’re after—everything digital.
“Sure. Insert the flash drive and give me a minute.”
A few seconds later, Lucas searched through the tower’s digital folders. “Hey, Remie. Have a look-see. This must be Ari’s desk.”
“Why do you say that?” She looked around at the rich wood paneling and several pieces of impressionist art covering the back wall. It was a mirror image of the other office.
“See for yourself.” Luc swiveled the monitor.
Clear green eyes smiled out from the screen, a picture taken on vacation. Loose hair drifted across her face, the ends curling at the bottom of her bikini.
The trip to Maui had tested Ari’s seductive skills in trying to coerce her into working with him after graduation. Fresh-faced and naïve, she held the exuberance of youth. Time and experience had rounded some of those edges.
“Jeez. That’s an old pic.”
“There’s more.” Luc opened a folder with an ominous title. The future.
In it were more pictures of her, taken during medical school training and again throughout residency. “How did he come by these without my knowledge?”
“Most people don’t know they’re being followed or photographed. They may get a prickling feeling on their arms or nape but aren’t able to verify the source. Hence, they ignore it.” Luc closed the folder and searched through the others present.
“Damn. What does this mean? It still doesn’t make sense for him to frame me and then act so concerned for my welfare.”
“We’ve got to have multiple players at work with various agendas. Let’s take a look at his partner’s files.” Luc led the way into the second office where she sat at Farabee’s desk. More books lined the built-in bookshelves.
Several minutes later, Lexi brought up the first folders. “Go ahead and poke around, guys. I’ll dub the drive.” Arrhythmic tapping punctuated Lexi’s murmur.
Remie frowned at a picture she’d pulled up.
“What are you finding over there?” Luc pivoted from the file cabinet.
“A file that has a picture of—two women, twins. I don’t recognize them. Nothing else is drawing warning flags. No mention of me, any of the women murdered, or the McAllisters. If a picture of two women sums up Ari and Farabee’s goals, it’s worth a hell of a lot more than a thousand words.”
“I’m not seeing anything else either, but Lexi may have better luck,” Luc supplied.
“When I checked their supplies, I didn’t see anything indicating work other than what they claim to be. Pioneers in bioengineering flesh. They have several proposals for grants here. Just what I’d expect.” Remie sighed in frustration.
“That doesn’t make them clean, it just makes them harder to catch,” Luc clarified.
“I’ve copied their drives so we can sort through them later. Make sure you grab the thumb drives. No need to leave a calling card.”
“Thanks, Lexi. I think it’s time Remie and I made our exit. Caden, what are you finding?”
Over Remie’s ear bud, Caden huffed. “Hmm, you all got the fun stuff and I got nothing but boxes of supplies. I’ve checked them and taken photos.”
“Guys, someone’s trying to hack into the feeds. You might want to leave—as in now.”
“Shit. Let’s go. Luc, you heading out?” A solid thump sounded in Caden’s background. “Freakin butterfingers.”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you in the storeroom. Any visitors waiting for us outside?”
“No. All’s clear. Police bands are also clear.” A slight chuffing in the background denoted Hoover’s concern for her owner.
Remie’s heart pounded in her chest while acid erupting in her throat made a difficult, if painful return. She fumbled the flash drive twice then accidently kicked it across the floor. Luc snatched it up with a chuckle.
“We’re fine. It could be someone from the other side of the country for all we know.” Luc offered his hand and a reassuring squeeze before leading her out of the office.
“Shit.” She stumbled over her own feet, then gained her balance with his support at her elbow. This time, as she made her way past the islands and workstations, the atmosphere held a sinister component she couldn’t shake.
“Can you hold them off, Lexi?”
“Sure, but not without them knowing I’m doing it.”
“Check the police channels again and make sure we’re not expecting company.” Caden’s murmur huffed over the mic.
Once back in the storeroom, Caden advised, “Light’s off. We’re clearing the building now.”
“No calls have gone out yet. I see you heading across the yard to the woods. Don’t forget your cameras. I’ll turn on the red dots as you approach so you can find ‘em.”
Visions of Gena’s autopsy pictures flashed through Remie’s thoughts, her own face superimposed as a reminder of her possible fate. Each step expanded the fear slithering through her chest. She questioned her sanity in a world where nothing made sense.
“Got the first one.” Luc froze after pocketing the electronic orb. “Shhh.”
His grip on her arm halted all movement. Caden stopped behind her, one hand on her shoulder as if to prevent her from bolting.
Oh, shit.
In the distance, an owl broke the silence before a slight rustling in the leaf bed jolted an awareness of how isolated they were. The slow glide of Luc’s hand around her back created confusion until he lifted her borrowed dart gun.
At least he’s not using his Glock.
From behind, Caden urged her into a crouched position.
Dry heaves threatened to give away their position. There wasn’t enough oxygen amid the thick underbrush to fill her lungs. Oh God. Lexi remained mute over the mic, but the chaotic rhythm of keyboard clicks provided background noise.
Luc raised his gun hand as the rustling grew closer.
They waited.
Remie’s stomach contracted. Reflex saw her snatching her mask up over her nose.
The soft pffft of the shot echoed in her ears. What started out as an exciting adventure now entailed terror that expanded to swallow her whole.
A stifled gasp filled the quiet night.
Not so muffled curses, then the sound of someone rushing through the woods. Away. There was no pretense at stealth.
Sudden silence startled her as much as the previous rustling. Whoever Luc shot either changed tactics to hide or had fallen unconscious.
Luc squeezed her hand briefly then reached into her jacket pocket, withdrawing another dart to reload. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “Don’t know how many. Stay low. Stay quiet. Follow me.”
The black knit cloth absorbed the sweat coating her face when she pulled it back in place. Fear was a cloying, breathing entity filling her lungs. Her legs threatened to give way when she tried to stand. Instinctively, she reached for Caden, glad he had anticipated her weakness. A reassuring pat on her arm and he rested his fingers at her waist. When she didn’t fall with her first few steps, he withdrew his hand.
Each step brought another horrifying image of Wendy, Gena, or the professor, all in vivid detail. Intuition declared Ari involved somehow. He’d never shown a sadistic streak, but she knew from training, sociopaths could fool the best clinicians. What if s
he had misread him from the beginning?
Not only had someone dragged her into something beyond her scope of comprehension, Billy and his entire family wore targets on their backs because of her involvement.
Luc halted their advance intermittently to listen. She didn’t pick up telltale sounds of a stalker, though she hadn’t initially heard the person he shot either.
When they made it back to the SUV, she took slow, deep breaths to counteract the nausea. Once inside, it took two tries to buckle her seatbelt on a silent prayer. The soft vibration of the floorboards after Luc started the engine offered little comfort.
“Damn. That’s cutting it a bit close, isn’t it?” Lexi sat in the back seat, her laptop in place, her fingers still for a moment.
“Yeah, closer than I like. When you said a car had stopped, we should’ve aborted, but I was afraid we wouldn’t get another chance.” Caden removed his mask and backpack then set them at his feet.
“Maybe they had cameras in the woods not connected to the building’s security,” Lexi said apologetically. “Damn if I could find any, but without more to go on, I’ve no way of knowing what I’m searching for.”
“We still have a problem, guys.” It seemed Remie was the bearer of bad news, her training in picking up evidence highlighting a flaw in their activities. She pulled off her mask and gloves. Luc had done the same.
Luc glanced her way before pulling out onto the small road. “What?”
“Your prints are on the dart and camera we left behind.” Tears brimmed Remie’s eyes. The harder she tried to figure out what type of game they’d entered, the deeper into trouble she pulled her friends.
“Actually, no. They’re not. First rule of breaking the rules. Wipe everything down.”
“Won’t stop them from fabricating evidence,” Lexi pointed out.
Remie had never been so glad to be home. Buckeye wagged his greeting at the door, his superior senses alerting him to her heightened emotional state.
When they’d all sat around the table, she studied their faces. Sincerity, solidarity, family, the words that came to mind. They may argue over what’s best for one, but if any were threatened, they stood united.
“I made a fresh brew so we could hash things out. There’s some cake left over from dinner if exercise has stirred anyone’s appetite.” Kaylee poured a cup of coffee for Caden before adding, “This family is anything but boring.”
Billy smiled as he, Megan, and Matt entered the front door. “I hear we had some excitement tonight. I take it there was only one?”
“That we know of. Took off after taking a dart. Megan says he probably won’t be out long and will wake up with a headache.” Caden grimaced. “I don’t like it when some prick sneaks up on me.”
“I didn’t find anything incriminating in the lab.” Remie rubbed her arms in a self-comforting gesture.
“But Ari has pictures of you on his computer. I wonder if his partner knows of his obsession.” Caden nudged Kaylee onto his lap as he spoke.
Details of benign findings led to more dead ends. Together, they rehashed known facts but came up with no new direction.
“How’d they know we’d be there tonight? That’s what I want to know. It’s as if they’re reading my mind.” Remie shoved her plate away, unable to stomach food and fear at the same time.
Matt rubbed the bristle on his chin then held his hand out in a give me gesture for the pen and paper in front of Luc. Furious scribbling brought all gazes to the eldest McAllister.
The message on his note pad received a dropped jaw from Ethan, before he passed it to the next at the table. Megan was last to read it but paled with the realization of its likelihood.
Caden and Ethan filled in the silence, joined by the others in turn, the topics ranging from their next mud race to Billy’s upcoming but nonexistent birthday plans.
Soundless steps carried Matt through the house and out the back door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Holy shit. She was supposed to sneak around and take a few pictures, not get shot. Katt woke up where she’d stumbled and fallen over a log. Leaves clung to her hair and the side of her face. Fuck. Who are these people? Her target was a pathologist, not a damn spy.
She considered herself little more than a courier of information. Who shoots the messenger? Anyone who doesn’t want the message delivered.
She’d lain in leaf litter, curled in a ball like a caterpillar after being disturbed. On the downside, she held no expectations of transforming into a butterfly. More like a moth drawn to a flame until I die.
Her head throbbed as if she’d been on a two-day binge, something for which her father held intimate knowledge. At the moment, she’d categorize any local group of spiders, acorn weevils, or cockroaches, as stampeding elephants. Pain in her shoulder drew her attention to the dart sticking in her arm. Yanking it out, she tossed it aside before realizing she needed to save it as evidence. A memento of getting caught and a reminder of how far behind the learning curve I exist. Considering she also trespassed, her stupidity warranted the dart’s home in a shadow box on her living room wall—a more potent reminder that if you’re gonna break the law, you have to be better than your target.
Her mentor had recommended a modified survival course. It remained financially out of reach but just moved to the top of her wish list. She’d find the money. What I need is a better mentor, one with good experience.
A text message to her employer with the doctor’s whereabouts didn’t help her fathom the pathologist’s next move or motive. A return text didn’t come with a flurry of questions, as if the break-in was expected. Her boss requested a picture of them coming out of the building. Simple enough, as soon as she got home and cleaned up the image on her computer.
After parking off the road, she researched the location online and found it was a professional building. Which means it probably has some type of security. Unfortunately, her computer skills only indulged light hacking, so she’d exited her car and made her way along the wooded edge for a closer look. The incorrect assumption they’d be in there for a while led her thoughts to wonder what in God’s name they’d expected to find. My luck never holds.
She’d gotten a great photo—of three subjects wearing black clothes and masks crossing the side yard in hunched positions. They could have been anybody, any height, any build. Her boss would not be happy.
As an apprentice, she’d studied stealth and listened to her mentor. Apparently, not well enough. One damn branch had snapped underfoot and drawn their attention. They were good, far better than she expected.
They could have killed her, and no one would’ve been the wiser. No one would have cared or even missed her.
The time had come to delve deeper into the madness and figure out who was pulling what strings. Further research would dictate her course. It might prove wiser to withdraw from the case that substantiated her inexperience. Good money wouldn’t dictate her morals, ethics, or the direction of her loyalties.
Investigators were supposed to have the inside scoop, yet she peered in from the outside. Instinct and sketchy material obtained thus far advised the McAllister’s were not dirty cops. The thought crossed her mind to approach them—with the same caution used to approach a rattler. Her mentor had warned against playing both sides of a case. Not only would it risk her professional reputation, it was dangerous. Yet somehow, somewhere in her misbegotten life, an influence beyond her control had instilled a rigid sense of right and wrong. She would obtain the best information from the horse’s mouth.
Returning to Remie’s farm offered the best chance to pick up their trail since they’d already held several meetings there. Billy hadn’t let Remie out of his sight unless she was at work and under the watchful eye of security. During background checks, information had pointed to the brothers sticking together, both in work and as a family. They must have a damn good reason for breaking in to Celtronics. Before heading out, she’d have to sit a few minutes to clear her head.
/> Which McAllisters are helping her? Billy hadn’t gotten in the car with Remie. What would a pathologist want with Celtronics? The thought of her boss having connections to the business stirred an uncomfortable image of her on the wrong side of an investigation.
She hadn’t possessed the skills to get inside the building and wouldn’t have taken the chance. Sticking to the legal side of the law was a safer bet. She’d wanted to see what they carried, if anything, when they left. Nothing. If they had stolen something, they’d secreted the items in their backpacks. Digital information? They’re cops. They’re investigating…something or someone. Her thoughts kept circling that fact.
Maybe her employer was somehow involved in corporate espionage. Her instincts usually instigated a gut reaction when bridging a dangerous path. The fact all contact occurred over the phone prevented her from visually assessing her boss’ motives.
Damn. She’d have to do better to stay out of everyone’s crosshairs.
Finding out what Celtronics did and theorizing why anyone would break into the building could come tomorrow. She stumbled to her feet again then abruptly sat down. Despite the chill and the shadows closing around her, she wasn’t in a hurry.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Five hundred bucks seemed like an exorbitant sum to spend on a piece of equipment when she could barely scrape up grocery money, but the night-vision binoculars proved worth the expense. The inter-ocular hinge allowed Katt to adjust the optical channels until centered over each eye, nice and comfy. Growing a business required sacrifices, ones she was prepared to make.
It appeared the McAllisters favored a debriefing after their little B & E. She scanned the cars and assumed the entire McAllister clan had assembled. After giving them a little more time to settle in, she’d make a crouched run up the hill to check license plate numbers, praying no one let their dog out. Calf-high field corn would cover her tracks, but not her form or scent.
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